Ipswich Town’s Ben Johnson on his first goal for the club during 2-2 draw against Chelsea in the Premier League
Town wideman Ben Johnson feels he should score more goals after opening his Blues account in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
On what was his 50th Premier League start, the wing-back headed in from Julio Enciso’s cross to double the Blues’ advantage during a first half that saw Town stun Chelsea with two goals against the run of play.
Johnson started his third game in a row in an attacking role on the right of the front four, with the 25-year-old admitting his recent run in the side has given him the confidence to get forwards.
“I’ve not scored in a while,” he said. “I feel like it’s been coming, we spoke at Bournemouth about that.
“It was good to contribute for the team. Obviously, it wasn’t a win but again we take a draw and on a personal note, really good.
“I’ve got the ability to score goals, whether it’s head or feet. I feel like I’ve got good timing.
“Again, I just want to play, get a rhythm, get more confident and get used to that position attacking. I feel like it’s coming now.”
Ultimately, the Blues let another lead slip having allowed their first half advantage to be cancelled out by Axel Tuanzebe’s own goal and a stunning Jadon Sancho equaliser.
Johnson, though, was keen to highlight the pleasing aspects of Town’s display, where they came close to inflicting a first league double on the west Londoners since 1979.
“A good performance,” he said. “The second half was gruelling but I thought everyone did brilliantly. To concede so early on in the second half, we’ve got another 45 minutes to hold out.
“But I thought we steadied the ship, still tried to take the game to them, looked dangerous on the counter-attack and when we built up through midfield and into the wide areas. We did really well in the second half and it’s a well-earned point.
“It’s always phycological. The best team in the world could come and concede a goal, then another goal, then another goal, so it’s not easy and it’s just the state of the game. We tried to manage it as best as we could and I felt that we did, every man on the pitch.
“All season we’ve tried to keep going and sometimes that’s been to our detriment, but that’s how we’re going to play.
“We need to show how good we are against the best teams in the world and I felt we were finally clicking. Hopefully we can get some more results towards the end of the season.
“Wolves was the last game and we showed it today, it was easy for us to come here and not be at it and be lacklustre, but we showed that we all have the will to win.
“Every single man is involved with Ipswich Town and we want to do the travelling fans proud. We gave them something to celebrate today.”
Johnson also claimed an assist as he returned the favour to Enciso for the opening goal after 19 minutes. After battling ahead of Marc Cucurella, the Town man’s cross was met by the Brighton and Hove Albion loanee for his first goal for the club.
“He’s a talent, you can see in the game,” Johnson said. “We lost Julio for a few weeks and you can see that we’ve needed him.
“He’s getting fully fit back into a rhythm and I think the goal in the national team helped him. He’s come back and he’s been on fire, so it’s good to have him firing on all cylinders.”
There was also huge praise for Alex Palmer, who produced another stunning display of saves to ensure Town escaped from Stamford Bridge with a point.
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After Sancho had levelled for Chelsea, Palmer kept out Trevoh Chalobah, Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez in the final knockings of the contest to deny the hosts a vital win in their quest for Champions League football.
On his goalkeeper, Johnson said: “He’s been a great signing since he’s come to the club. You saw at Villa he done the same on his debut and he’s done it again today and kept us in it.
“Having that strong foundation at the back gives everyone confidence to play – his kicking, his saves, his composure on the ball as well and he’s getting better and better.
“We’re going to expect him to make saves and he’s going to expect that. It’s good for him to make some top ones today and that will give him more confidence going into next week.”